Friday Feature - 12.05.17

As part of our Meet the Maker series on our blog, we have created Friday Feature. Every Friday we will feature a team member and their Etsy shop, to give you a quick glance behind the scenes and discover more about our diverse team members.

Friday 12 May, 2017 - Slinky Home

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF:

I'm originally from Paris but I moved to London in 2008 to pursue a more creative path. After training as shoemaker, I worked in the footwear and fashion industry for a few years. That's where I had the idea of using leather off-cuts to create jewellery pieces. I always like making new things but for the first time I could actually imagine turning my hobby into a business. I'm been running my business full-time since 2014.

Me, modelling one of my creations.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED ON ETSY?

I opened my first Etsy shop while as was still working for a fetish shoemaker in North London. I was working with a lot of beautiful patent leather and it got me thinking about a way of using all the off-cuts we were handing up with. A few of my friends mentioned Etsy to me and I decided to go for it. I love how easy to use it is and the fact that you can reach customers all over the world. But having a successful shop requires daily work and a lot of learning about SEO, photography,... which is challenging but also rewarding when you see your hard work paying off.

I recently opened a second shop, SlinkyHome, selling Home-Decor in copper, concrete and leather. Once again I started by making something for myself with some left-over leather and copper pipes and decided to start a product range.

I enjoy having 2 different shops. It forces me to work with different materials and push my creativity further.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR DESIGN/MAKING PROCESS:

I don't sketch. My drawing skills are very limited so I like to experiment with material when I want to work on a new design. I create several versions of an idea and tweak them until I'm satisfied with my designs. When creating jewellery, I often start from a piece of leather. Because I work with leather scraps, I try to get the most out of each pieces of leather, minimising waste.

SlinkyHome, get your desk tidied in style

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

My favourite thing about running my business is definitely the freedom it gives me. I'm the one making all the decisions and weather they are wise or not, it all rest on me. I can be as creative as I want, when I want it and feel passionate about my job everyday. Of course it's not all rainbow and unicorns, I actually have to generate money which can be challenging but I'm not one to run from a good challenge!

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU JOIN THE TEAM?

I started the team with Emma Barnes in 2015 with the purpose to create a support system and create opportunities for other designer-makers in London. Working on your own can be pretty lonely and when running your business you sometimes feel overwhelmed by everything you need to do and know. By working together we can achieve so much more and have access to so much collective knowledge. Since 2015, we have run several successful markets, a pop-up shop, numerous workshops and created a very active Facebook Group where anyone can ask any question regarding their business and get advice from other creative business owners.